Ovechkin, Capitals blow lead in 5-4 loss to Kings

Los Angeles Kings right wing Justin Williams, left, center Mike Richards, right wing Dustin Brown celebrate Richards' goal in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)(Photo: The Associated Press)

Story Highlights

WASHINGTON (AP) — Every point matters more than ever to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, who are part of a logjam in the Eastern Conference — and on the outside of the playoff race, looking in, at the moment.

So blowing two-goal leads, as the Capitals tend to do, and losing key players such as center Nicklas Backstrom to injury are not exactly what they want. All of those bad things happened to the Capitals in a 5-4 shootout loss Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings, who came back after Ovechkin scored two early power-play goals.

"Obviously, you miss 'Backy,' but every team has guys that go out," said Capitals coach Adam Oates, who would only say that Backstrom has an upper-body injury. "You've got 19 other guys that have got to do the job. We've got plenty of guys that can do the job."

Also "being evaluated," as Oates put it, after the game was defenseman Jack Hillen, who was involved in a scary moment halfway through overtime, colliding with Ovechkin at center ice. Hillen's helmet slammed into Ovechkin's chest, and the game was put on hold for a bit. Ovechkin got the wind knocked out of him and took a knee, but returned to the game. Hillen got the worst of the impact and remained face-down on the ice while a trainer checked on him.

Washington is ninth in the East, one spot out of the playoffs based on tiebreakers, even though it is one of four teams with 80 points, alongside No. 7 Columbus, No. 8 Detroit and No. 10 Toronto. The Capitals have nine games left, starting Saturday at home against Boston.

So among the Capitals, there was a mix of relief at the idea of picking up one point against Los Angeles — and disappointment at failing to get two after leading 2-0 thanks to Ovechkin before the game was 7½ minutes old, and then being ahead 3-1 entering the third period.

"There's no excuse. We have to find a way to win when we are up two goals," Washington forward Marcus Johansson said. "It hurts a lot. You never know when it comes down to it — in or out (of the playoffs) by one point."

Kuznetsov had tied the wild, back-and-forth game with 41.5 seconds left in regulation on his first NHL goal, a short-hander that came when he reached in to knock home a loose puck after it trickled through Quick's pads on Ovechkin's shot.

Plenty of fans thought Ovechkin was responsible for his third goal of the night, and they tossed their hats onto the ice. But his total stayed at a league-leading 48.

While Kuznetsov's goal got the crowd excited, in the end, the Kings wound up winning their seventh consecutive road game and their fourth game in a row overall. They began Tuesday sixth in the West, and their playoff status is looking a lot more secure than Washington's.

April 11, first star: Dallas Stars defenseman Trevor Daley tallied a goal and an assist in the Stars' 3-0 rout of the St. Louis Blues, sending the Stars to their first playoffs since 2008.
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April 8, second star: Minnesota Wild right Wing Jason Pominville netted two goals in the 4-3 shootout victory over the Boston Bruins. The Wild clinched the playoffs with the win.
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April 5, second star: Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic scored two goals and had an assist in the Bruins 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Boston clinched the East with the victory.
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April 5, third star: Minnesota Wild goalie Ilya Bryzgalov shut out one of the best offenses in hockey, stopping all 20 shots he faced. The Wild beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0.
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March 29, first star: Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov had 47 saves in the Avalanche's 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks. Colorado clinched a spot in the postseason with the win.
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March 25 second star: Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo made the game winning save against Ottawa Senators left wing Milan Michalek during a shootout. Luongo had 37 saves in Florida's 3-2 win over the Senators.
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March 23 third star: Vancouver Canucks forward Zack Kassian had four assists in a 4-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres. He needed 15 games to get his previous four points.
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March 22, second star: New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves in the Rangers 2-0 shut out of the New Jersey Devils. The win marked Lundqvist's record 50th shutout, a franchise record.
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March 22, third star: Detroit Red Wings forward Brendan Smith tallied one goal and one assist in the Red Wings 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild, which put the team back in the playoff picture.
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March 20, first star: Detroit Red Wings right wing Daniel Alfredsson lead the Red Wings to an eventual 5-4 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, collecting two goals and one assist, including the game winner in OT.
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March 15, first star: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender made 23 saves in the Lightning's 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils. It was Bishop's 31st win of the season, a single-season record for the team.
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March 14, first star: New York Rangers left wing Carl Hagelin stole the spotlight from Henrik Lundqvist on the night the netminder tied the Rangers' win mark (301), scoring three goals to lift New York past the Winnipeg Jets 4-2.
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March 14, second star: San Jose Sharks right wing Martin Havlat tallied one goal and one assist to help the Sharks get their fifth straight winning, beating the New York Islanders 4-3.
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March 11, first star: Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn scored a game-winner in OT against the NHL-best St. Louis Blues, one night after teammate Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench.
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March 8, first star: New Jersey Devils left wing Tuomo Ruutu had a goal and an assist and finished +2 with 5 shots on goal to help the Devils beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4.
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March 6, first star: Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin notched his third hat trick of the season when the Stars topped the Vancouver Canucks 6-1. Seguin has now tied the Stars record for more hat tricks in a season.
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March 6, second star: Buffalo Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth continued to impress following Ryan Miller being traded, stopping 43 shots to back stop the Sabres to a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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March 2, first star: Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins. Rask made 39 saves in a 6-3 win over the Rangers. The Bruins swept the season-series with the Rangers for the first time in 31 years.
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Feb. 28, third star: Buffalo Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth was thrust into the spotlight Friday after starter Ryan Miller was traded, but Enroth proved he could handle the pressure, making 36 saves en route to a 4-2 Sabres victory over the San Jose Sharks.
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Feb. 25, first star: Buffalo Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff notched two scores, including the game-winner with .44 seconds left in regulation, to power the Sabres over the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2.
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Feb. 1, first star: Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Phil Kessel (81) celebrates his second goal of the game in the third period against the Ottawa Senators at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Senators 6-3.
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Jan 30, third star: Nazem Kadri contributed three assists to the Toronto Maple Leafs come-from-behind win over the Florida Panthers Thursday night. The Leafs are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
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Jan. 28 first star: Washington Capitals right wing Alex Ovechkin (8) energized his team to a win with a four-point performance, including the assist to Mike Green's game-winner in overtime.
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Jan. 28 second star: Minnesota Wild left wing Zach Parise, left, assisted his team's first two goals and scored the third himself in a 4-2 win of the league-leading Anaheim Ducks.
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Jan. 27 first star: Edmonton Oilers bench congratulates forward David Perron (57), whose hat trick lifted the Oilers over the Canucks. It was his second career hat trick, the first of which also came against Vancouver.
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Jan. 27 second star: Carolina Hurricanes forward Eric Staal (12) scored two goals in the third period to tie the game against the Blue Jackets, setting the stage for his brother, Jordan, to net the game-winner.
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Jan. 26 third star: New York Rangers right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) was just one piston firing in the Rangers' offensive machine Sunday night, scoring two goals in a 7-3 win against the Devils.
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Jan. 21 second star: New Jersey Devils right wing Damien Brunner contributed to three of the Devils' seven scores, assisting on two of them and scoring a power-play goal himself in the third period.
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Jan. 21 third star: No Sedin or Tortorella? No problem. Canucks rookie left wing Kellan Lain had two seconds of ice time and 15 penalty minutes under his belt after making his NHL debut during Saturday's brawl. He followed up that pugnacious performance with a goal five minutes into his second game, a 2-1 win against Edmonton.
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Jan. 20 first star: Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand scored two goals against the Los Angeles Kings, starting the game with a shorthanded goal and ending it with a one-timer to put the Bruins ahead for good.
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Jan. 20 second star: San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski (8) added two goals in a win against the Calgary Flames as he ties Anaheim's Corey Perry for second-most goals this season with 27.
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Jan. 8 third star: Colorado Avalanche center Paul Stastny (left) scored and added two assists in his team's 4-3 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators. He potted the goal that tied the game late in the third.
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Jan. 7 first star: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby tied the game with 55 seconds left on a slick skate-to-stick move, then won it in a shootout. He also had an assist and played 23:27 in the 5-4 win over the Canucks.
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Jan. 7 third star: Flyers forward Brayden Schenn took a skate to the stomach early in the game, but still continued to play, scoring the 3-2 winner in overtime against the Devils and adding an assist.
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Jan. 6 first star; New York Islanders center John Tavares had a hat trick and two assists in a 7-3 rout of the Dallas Stars. He's expected to be named to Team Canada on the 7th.
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Jan. 5 first star: Anaheim Ducks right winger Corey Perry scored his NHL-leading eighth game-winning goal of the season with 1.3 seconds on the clock in overtime to lift Anaheim to a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
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Dec. 27 first star: Chicago Blackhawks wing Patrick Sharp notched his third career hat trick on his 32nd birthday and added an assist in a 7-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
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Dec. 21 first star: Los Angeles Kings goalie Martin Jones (31) made 23 saves and stopped all three shots in the shootout for a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, making the 23-year-old phenom just the second goalie ever to win his first eight NHL starts.
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Dec 21 third star: Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) had a goal and two assists to extend his season-high points streak to 10 games in a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames.
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Dec. 17 first star: Tampa Bay's Valtteri Filppula scored twice in the final 3 minutes of regulation and then converted in the shootout to rally the Lightning past the New York Islanders 3-2.
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Dec. 13 third star: Jason Garrison, Vancouver Canucks. Garrison recorded three assists in the Canucks' 4-0 win over the Oilers. Garrison led all skaters in points on the evening.
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Dec. 12 first star: Colorado Avalanche's Matt Duchene had a big night Thursday, scoring two goals and recording an assist in regulation, and then scoring the game-winning goal in a shootout. Colorado beat Winnipeg 4-3.
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Dec. 10 first star: Washington Capitals right wing Alex Ovechkin celebrates after scoring of his four goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 6-5 shootout win for the Capitals.
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Dec. 10 second star: Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson celebrates one of his two goals in a 5-4 victory over the New jersey Devils. Atkinson also added two assists.
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Dec. 9 third star: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins. Malkin scored his eighth goal of the year in his first game back from injury in the Penguins' 2-1 win over the Blue Jackets.
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Dec. 5 second star: Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis celebrates after scoring one of his two goals against the Ottawa Senators to help his team come away with the 3-1 victory.
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Dec. 5 third star: New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves to help the Rangers beat the Sabres 3-1, in his first game playing since signing a seven-year $59.5 million contract.
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Dec. 3 second star: Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby scored the game-tying and the game-winning goals as the Penguins came from behind to beat the Islanders 3-2 in overtime.
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Dec. 3 third star: Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler scored two goals against Nashville Predators, giving him four in the last two games, as the Canucks beat the Predators 3-1.
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Dec. 2 first star: Olli Jokinen, Winnipeg Jets. Jokinen scored two goals and recorded an assist in the Jets' 5-2 win over the Rangers. Both of Jokinen's goals came in the third period, the first breaking a 2-2 tie.
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Dec. 1 first star: Vancouver center Ryan Kesler scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the second period, in the Canucks' 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.
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Nov. 23 second star: Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom, in his first game back since suffering a concussion, made 37 saves to beat the Jets 3-2. He was pressed into starting duty when Josh Harding was hurt in warmups.
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Nov. 21 first star: After being called up earlier in the day from the AHL, Gustav Nyquist helped the Red Wings end their losing streak and beat the Hurricanes by scoring two goals
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Nov. 16 second star: Forward Craig Smith had a goal and two assists to help the slumping Nashville Predators offense wake up in a 7-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks.
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Nov. 16 third star: Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy scored a goal in his NHL debut with his parents in the stands. His dad is former NHL defenseman Gord Murphy.
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Nov. 12 first star: Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres goalies made 43 saves and two more saves in the shootout as the Sabres topped the Kings 3-2 for their first home win.
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Nov. 5 first star: Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals. Ovechkin scored two goals and recorded an assist in his return from injury during Washington's 6-2 win over the New York Islanders.
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Nov. 5 second star: Mark Arcobello, Edmonton Oilers. Arcobello recorded his first two goals of the season, and in his career, including the overtime winner as the Oilers downed the Panthers 4-3.
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Nov. 5 third star: Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres. Despite giving up four goals, Miller still made an incredible 47 saves, including three more stops in the shootout, as the Sabres topped the Sharks 5-4 for their third win.
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Nov. 4 third star: Anaheim right wing Corey Perry scored a little more than two minutes in the game and had five shots as the Ducks wrapped up their eight-game trip with a win at Madison Square Garden.
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Oct. 31 first star: Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers. Lundqvist stopped all 29 shots he saw as the Rangers beat the Sabres 2-0 for their first home win of the season.
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Oct. 30 second star: Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings. Kopitar scored the game-winning goal in overtime after assisting on the game-tying goal in the third period of the Kings' 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks.
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Jan 22, third star: Being in an early 2-0 hole proved inconsequential for Henrik Zetterberg and the Detroit Red Wings. The captain tallied three assists en route to Detroit defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 in a shoot out.
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Oct. 29 third star: Anaheim Ducks right wing Kyle Palmieri scores the game winning goal, one of his two for the game, past Philadelphia Flyers goalie Steve Mason during the third period at Wells Fargo Center. The Ducks defeated the Flyers, 3-2.
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Oct. 26 second star: Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer, in his first start since being injured on Oct. 17, made 37 saves in Toronto's 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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Oct. 25 third star: Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche. Duchene had two goals, including one on a nifty spin move, and an assist to help the Avalanche beat the Hurricanes 4-2 and improve their NHL-best record to 9-1.
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Oct. 19 third star: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers. The center scored twice and had an assist to help the Oilers beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1 and end their five-game losing streak.
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